Modelling the Radial Distribution of the Inventory of U and Pu Isotopes in PWR Fuel Rods at High Burnup

Abstract

Nowadays trends on nuclear reactors are to take advantage of a more efficient use of the fuels. In this way, goals like decreasing the volume of radioactive wastes, increasing life time in the reactor, extended burnup and accident-tolerance fuels are taken as the principal guidelines for the design and construction for actual nuclear fuels. The development of tools and the capability of prediction of the behaviour of nuclear fuels under irradiation let us design and improve the new demanding conditions without neglecting the security and economics. In this way, the study of the evolution and details of the fissile material of the fuel in particular the 235U inventory evolution and the 239Pu production and evolution are demanding conditions. We implemented the PILR code, based on the RAPID model, for the radial distribution of U and Pu radioisotopes. The aim of this work is to determine production and disappearance of Pu and U isotopes during the irradiation of commercial and experimental fuel rods.